Mentorship Co-Design

Mentorship Co-Design is YLN’s established approach to building mentorship programming with young people rather than for them. Youth participants with lived system experience actively shape the structure, content, and focus of the mentorship cohort in partnership with mentors and staff.

Through Mentorship Co-Design, youth have:

• Informed curriculum priorities, including healing-centered practices, leadership development, and real-world problem solving

• Shaped program delivery, influencing session formats, group norms, and engagement strategies that strengthen trust and participation

• Identified community and system challenges that guide discussion topics and action projects

YLN integrates structured feedback and reflection throughout the cohort, allowing programming to adapt in real time. Youth insights are documented and shared with partner schools, community organizations, and system stakeholders to improve coordination and responsiveness.

Mentorship Co-Design strengthens engagement, increases program relevance, and develops youth leadership capacity while generating actionable insights for partners and funders. This approach ensures YLN’s mentorship model remains trauma-informed, youth-centered, and accountable, with outcomes grounded in lived experience and community reality.